Award Data

COMMERCIAL CATFISH PRODUCTION IS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPAIRED BY INFECTIOUS DISEASES, A MAJOR CAUSE OF ECONOMIC LOSSES TO THE CATFISH PRODUCER. ONE OF THE MOST DETRIMENTAL OF THESE INFECTIOUS DISEASES IS ENTERIC SEPTICEMIA OF CATFISH (ESC) CAUSED BY EDWARDSIELLA ICTALURI. IN 1987, APPROXIMATELY $4 MILLION WORTH OF FISH IN MISSISSIPPI ALONE DIED FROM ESC. PROMPT TREATMENT OF INFECTED FISH INCREASES THE C ...

This project addresses a critical need: fast transfer of timely market information to and among sellers/marketers of high-value U.S. foods. The method to transfer this information is a Bulletin Board System (BBS). The heart of the BBS will be a collection of computer-accessed, constantly updated files of sought-after (but hard-to-get) market research/market intelligence information. The focus ...

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A SIMPLE TO USE, QUANTITATIVE DEVICE TO ACCURATELY MEASURE SOIL WATER CONTENT WITH SUFFICIENT RESOLUTION TO DEFINE WETTING FRONTS DUE TO RAIN EVENTS IN DEPTH PROFILES. THIS GEOPHYSICAL TOOL SENSES CHANGE IN THE ELECTROMAGNETIC ENVIRONMENT, SPECIFICALLY THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT OF THE SOIL, WHICH IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO SOIL WATER CONTENT. THE SOIL WATER CONTENT PROFILING DEVICE ...

Research will be conducted to refine methods for control of microspore development in wheat anthers toward increasing the proportion of microspores at stages most responsive to androgenesis induction. In Phase I, prior results indicating the existence of a signal (for androgenesis) control system response of wheat microspores will be extended, to refine and optimize treatments for increasing the ...

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TWO APPROACHES WILL BE EXAMINED TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THESENSITIVITY OF LAUNDRY MONITORS TO DETECT AND SPECIFY LOCATION OF HOT PARTICLES ON LAUNDERED GARMENTS. THESE PROPOSED TECNIQUES HAVE HIGH POTENTIAL FOR DETECTING BOTH LOW ENERGY BETA AND ALPHA PARTICLE RADIATION AS WELL AS IMPROVING SENSITIVITY BY REDUCING BACKGROUND COUNT RATE.

INSPECTION OF PAINTED OR COATED CARBON STEEL SURFACES OFTEN INVOLVES THE REMOVAL OF THE COATING PRIOR TO INSPECTION, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE USE OF MAGNETIC PARTICLE TESTING (MT) IS REQUIRED. IN THE CASE OF EXAMINATION OF CONTAINMENT VESSEL WALLS IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS, THE REMOVAL IS TIME CONSUMING, RESULTING IN INCREASED RADIATION EXPOSURE TO WORKERS. IN ADDITION, THE REMOVAL MUST BE DONE WITHOUT C ...

The use of sub-therapeutic concentrations of anti-microbial agents in animal feed has contributed to theproductivity of the U.S. meat and dairy industries by preventing infectious diseases, by decreasing theamount of feed required and by increasing the rate of animal weight gain. However, failure to observerecommended practices of drug withdrawal can result in concentrations of antibiotic residue ...

The ready-to-assemble (RTA) construction system is a new method for assembling wood structuresbuilt from the following engineered wood products: parallel strand lumber (PSL), laminated strandlumber (LSL), and laminated veneer lumber (LVL). The RTA system is designed for rapid assemblyby small crews of unskilled labor using common hand tools. The design of the RTA systemincorporates engineered w ...

Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a retrovirus that causes a chronic infection in horses. In theabsence of a vaccine, the control of this disease depends on the diagnosis and elimination of infectedhorses. Currently approved diagnostic procedures utilize agar gel diffusion (AGID), or enzyme-linkedimmunosorbant (ELISA) methodologies to detect antibodies against the virus in horse sera as e ...